In an ongoing series during CAA Steering Committee election time, we hear from Steering Committee member Rob DeLand, current Treasurer.

I joined CAA in 2007 while I was an LIS student, and received much-needed help from Janet Olson and other CAA members during that critical period. The contacts I made thanks to these people helped me get the internship I wanted, and ultimately led me to my full-time position as a librarian & archivist. I served on the CAA Steering Committee from 2011 to 2017 because I wanted to give back to the organization that made this possible for me. I enjoyed working with experienced colleagues when I started, and have enjoyed getting to know newer Steering Committee members in a way that would not have been possible without volunteering.

The Chicago area has many great people and interesting archival collections, and for me CAA has been essential for the ongoing pleasure of meeting fellow archivists and becoming familiar with their holdings, challenges, skills, and camaraderie. I also like the intimacy of working in a smaller organization like CAA, as opposed to something at the national level; but the experiences gained in CAA can also help you be a more valuable contributor for future roles in other archival organizations if that’s what interests you.

Please consider volunteering for a term serving on the CAA Steering Committee. We tend to meet every month or two in a downtown Chicago location, usually with one or more members calling in for the meeting – so you don’t have to trek into the city if that’s a problem for you (the name Chicago AREA Archivists was intentional!).

CAA is a solid organization with many very caring and dedicated members, and it is for all these reasons that CAA has been and will always be very important to me.

In an ongoing series during CAA Steering Committee Election time, we hear from Amber Dushman, current Chair.

I was just about a year into my first archives job, and finishing my MLIS, when a serious case of imposter syndrome hit me. Compounded with being a lone arranger I was in need of colleagues who I could not only share ideas with, but I needed a team I could learn from and work with. Thanks to the encouragement from a “retiring” Steering Committee member, I threw my hat into the running.

CAA has afforded me invaluable leadership opportunities and learning experiences I wouldn’t have otherwise had. Those opportunities have introduced me to the work of many archival professionals and shown me their contributions to CAA: how they steady the course of the organization, but also how they infuse it with fresh programming by taking risks. These two things can be done by welcoming those new to the profession into CAA leadership.

In an ongoing series during CAA Steering Committee Election time, we hear from Drew Davis, the current CAA Secretary.

It is vital that an archivist at any stage of their career participate in regional or national archives organizations, but attaining leadership roles in those organizations can sometimes be difficult. Due to that, many archivists – and especially young archivists - can feel that their voice is “lost in the crowd.” I personally felt that setback with larger archival organizations, as I enjoy contributing to the professional development of archivists. It was during this time that I joined the Chicago Area Archivists, and was pleasantly surprised to find many volunteer and leadership opportunities available immediately. As my interest was in advancing the careers of young archivists, I joined the Professional Development subcommittee in 2012. Working on this subcommittee allowed me to help plan programs and workshops geared towards increasing the professional knowledge of CAA members. In 2014, I joined the Steering committee, providing me the opportunity to help lead CAA. Finally, in 2015 I became CAA Secretary, putting me in charge of managing CAA minutes and records.

What I find most notable about my CAA experience is that it was possible for myself and several other Steering members to go from new members to CAA officers within three to four years of joining. I also find it impressive that so many young archivists are able to take on and thrive in leadership roles in the subcommittees and on the Steering committee. If you are an archivist at any point in your career that wants to make a difference in your profession, I highly urge you to run for Steering. There are several seats open this year, and your views and experiences would be vital in helping grow CAA.

In an ongoing series during CAA Steering Committee Election time, we hear from longtime Steering Committee member Andy Steadham.

When I joined the Steering Committee in 2011, ChicagoArea Archivists was re-emerging from a lull in CAA activity. The year before, most Steering members had been involved with planning,hosting, and otherwise supporting the Midwest Archives Conference annual meeting – which didn't leave much time for planning CAA programs. This new Steering was committed to resuscitating CAA by bringing in additional help in the form of subcommittees to organize social events, program professional development opportunities, and develop news ways to reach out to members, potential members, and the general public.

Today, as we look forward to bringing the Midwest Archives Conference back to Chicago in 2018, CAA remains as active as ever. There will be no lull this time.

That's what serving on the Steering Committee is about: ensuring the sustainability of an organization by creating systems to keep it moving forward. In my three terms on Steering, the committee has worked on lots of projects like this, including:

migrating the CAA website to a more robust system for tracking membership and receiving online payments

creating a Communication Manager role overseeing both internal and external communications channels

establishing a records management policy and stewarding the Chicago Area Archivists Records (because if we can't organize our archives, who can?)

All of that sounds like a lot of work, but keep in mind this happened over six years! Steering terms are only two years, so you can decide for yourself how much time to commit.

Working with my peers on Steering has been a great opportunity for me to learn about what keeps an organization like this going. It's also been a great way to meet and work alongside other fantastic Chicago archives professionals.

Maybe it's time for you to step up and think about how you can keep this organization you value sustainable. I hope you'll consider volunteering to serve on the CAA Steering Committee.

In an ongoing series during CAA Steering Committee Election time, we hear from Steering Committee member George Kutsunis, current RAAC liaison.

One of the advantages of serving on the Steering Committee is getting the opportunity to represent Chicago and the CAA in the profession. As the liaison to Regional Archival Associations Consortium (RAAC) I have the opportunity to speak and advocate for the needs and interests of Chicago archivists directly in a group that has significantly more reach than the CAA.

Working with representatives from other organizations is a unique opportunity to collaborate with archivists from around the country, as well as see the common challenges these regional organizations have, and take the best solutions back to CAA. RAAC exists to support local archival organizations like CAA and also seeks to leverage our combined experiences into advocacy education.

Working on the Steering Committee has changed the way I think about our profession, and representing CAA at RAAC changes the way you think about professional cooperation.

If you want to advocate for archivists, for professional standards, and for better professional development, though, you don't have to look towards the national level. Start right here with CAA and the Steering Committee.

CAA thanks all who attended our first Archives Salon of 2017 on February 16! Eleven people discussed CAA member Scott Pitol's upcoming article "Measuring the Researcher’s Opportunity to Prepare: The Archives Research Preparation Online (ARPO) Index.” Thinking about what researchers look for in archival repository websites led to a interesting discussion, and all agreed that Scott's ARPO Index will be an invaluable tool for examining how our own sites prepare researchers for visiting our repositories.

Thanks to Michael San Filippo for the photo, and for Scott Pitol for sharing his article and ideas with us!

If you missed this event, don't worry - there will be more events throughout the year at a variety of dates, times, and locations. Coming soon:

In an ongoing series during CAA Steering Committee Election time, we hear from Steering Committee member Gretchen Neidhardt about the time and commitment needed for Steering.

Joining Steering Committee has been a volunteer opportunity that has been fun, rewarding, and valuable. The time commitment for Steering is certainly something to take into account but has never felt burdensome or overwhelming. We meet one evening per month at rotating locations, and everyone’s work schedules, work locations, and homes are taken into account. There are many different roles within the Steering Committee and those require different levels of commitment, but I have found the committee to be incredibly accommodating of all of our needs.

Our monthly meetings last approximately two hours and depending on what else is going on with CAA, the time commitment outside of those meetings is around 1-3 hours a month. During meetings, we discuss membership, financial outlook,subcommittee activities, and other projects as they are occurring, including initiatives likeChicago Open Archives.

Joining the Steering Committee is an incredibly rewarding experience for a relatively small time commitment and I recommend it highly as a way to connect more with your archival community and affect change in our archival area.

CAA thanks all who attended the event Creating a Web Archiving Program, last Thursday, February 2! 14 people attended and learned about how to plan for, implement and grow a web archiving program. Attendees walked away with some useful tips on gaining support for a web archiving program and a basic understanding of the tools and software that are available, such as the widely used Archive-It.

Thanks to the presenters Andy Steadham, of Rotary International, Jennifer Ho, of the Chicago Community Trust, and Laura Alagna of Northwestern University. Also, a shout out to Karl-Rainer Blumenthal of Archive-It who was in attendance and took part in some Q & A after the presentations.

If you missed this event, don't worry - there will be more events throughout the year at a variety of dates, times, and locations. Coming soon:

In an ongoing series during CAA Steering Committee Election time, we hear from another Steering Committee member, Jennifer Ho, current Vice Chair.

We need you and your ideas on the CAA Steering Committee! If you are a CAA subcommittee member, please consider running for Steering. You will find it to be a valuable experience. Being on the Steering Committee has not only given me the opportunity to cultivate leadership experience, I have also continued to learn more about the archives landscape in Chicago and substantially expand my network.

I joined the CAA Steering Committee last year (2016) after having served on the CAA Events Subcommittee for a few years. I was a member of Events and then became Chair. I hadn’t planned on running because I still felt very new to the field and to Chicago, but one of its members reached out to me and said that my experience with Events would be an asset. So, if you’ve served on a subcommittee in the past, I’d like to point out that you have an advantage! We need Steering members with all levels of experience and leadership.

If you’ve ever thought, “why doesn’t CAA…” or “it would be nice if CAA…,”this is a wonderful opportunity to put your ideas into action. You’ll be working with a kind and supportive group of people while building your skill set as an archivist and as a leader.

If you’ve served on a subcommittee, please consider joining theSteering Committee.Deadline for submissions is Thursday, March 16.